Thank you, Steve.

That exhaust note is THE BEST THING EVER!!

Its just great to see how small and also how simply built those cars were back then, love it.

@johnpearson492

3 жыл бұрын

Most indeed, I have a 62 Sprite like this one, it's a brilliant and simple design. They are easy to work on and a riot to drive.

Love those British sports cars.

About 8 years ago I had to go through the carbs on a 1956 MG. The engine in it was a lot like that. It hadn't ran in 15 years. It drove home to the same place in had sat the 15 years. Then 5 years ago, a customer towed a '56 Jaguar mark 5 here that been in a warehouse for 30 years. It had the straight 6 cylinder. It had the same carbs, even used kits that came with the MG to rebuilt them. After I got the engine running I found the reason it was parked in the warehouse - clutch was toast. Had to wait for clutch set to come from London. He drove it home and it sold at auction for $36,000 a few months later. I had gone through the brakes and electrical. 6v positive ground system was a pain. The body and interior were already in good shape because it had been kept inside for 30 years.

Excellent video Steve :) and turn 👌 super also run awesome!

Back in my day, balancing twin or even triple SU carburetors was made a lot easier by using a length of say 3/8" pvc hose, one end held at the mouth of the carburetor and the other end to your ear like a stethoscope. I found that adjusting the idle intake for evenness by the sound of the airflow produced amazing results as the slightest change in the idle stop setting altered the airflow sound remarkably. I also found that the fit of the SU piston in it's bell and stiction at idle and various throttle settings used to drive me nuts so I opted to polish the inside of the bell and to a degree, the outside diameter of the piston until there were no points of stiction which would modify the mixture at a given throttle opening. Using a sensitive gas analyzer opened up a real can of worms in getting the SU carburetors to operate smoothly and produce reliable performance.

That really was interesting.

Thanks for mentioning Moss Motors. I was with my Dad back in the early-mid 60s when he went to Goleta to meet with his friend Al Moss. It was a great experience to visit Moss Motors as well as Moss' home.

I just bought a 1961 Austin Healey Sprite, and these videos are so helpful during the restoration process. Love your content!

I never cease to be impressed by how quickly you can turn these cars around and get them running and looking so nice. A real pleasure to watch.

I love those clean lines and simplicity of design. Very nice work.

Thanks great lesson I will apply it to my 68 spit thank you

Excellent. You can understand why these were so popular. The essential nippy little sports car with a great sound. Seeing chrome come back to life is special. It tops off the car. 👍😊

Steve, you did a great job with this series. Binged the whole thing this morning. I like forward to seeing more from you.

Watching this brings back a lot of memories of maintaining a '72 MGB. Every spring and fall I would do the "get ready for the season" chores of adjusting the valves, installing new points, condenser, new plugs, and overhaul the carbs. The car was a daily driver in those days, so It took work to keep it starting and running like it should. Thanks.

great job... you certainly know your stuff

Steve! Its just great to see your experience with these. I recognize so many things you are doing since I back in the late 1987 did my own MG-Midget -71. Back then we didnt have youtube, or internet, just Hayes repair books. Its such a joy to see you working with such easy hands

Also, great job on this sprite, it sounds amazing, really brings me back to the 70s at Watkins Glen and my dad's SCCA club racing days. He raced a 63. He and two buddies put together two mk2s and a bugeye, painted them all deep blue, one put a Red Barron on the back and my mom painted a snoopy flying his doghouse on dad's car. Carb tuning seems so arcane, like you need a leather bound book and incantations to learn the art, but I tell you these guys could hear a carb problem (literally) a mile away, "oh, he's burbling up to the heel of the boot" kind of language, then they would pull into the pits, twiddle a bit, and back out sounding even better. I've enjoyed a few of your SU carb videos, keep 'em coming. I have about a year before I have the pleasure of tuning my own.

@roguedalek900

3 жыл бұрын

My old man raced a Mini in the same era and he was the same way with his SUs . Twin 1.5s . He could tune it by ear with a plastic tube stuck in his ear listening to it gasp air

Great stuff Steve , thanks

Very nice.

Steve. You enjoyed working on this mk2 and we all enjoyed watching you do it ! The body looks mint and now she runs as good as she looks. Always great to watch these cars being brought back to life. Thanks Steve. Great to see Kathy back and helping out .

@johnmoruzzi7236

3 жыл бұрын

I think she’s called Cassie ? (the girl not the car)...

Wow a great transformation without any huge expense ! Well done Steve ! 👍🇨🇦

Another great how to video ! I’m a mechanic by day but grew up around British sports cars. Alway loved the look and sound. Have never owned one but always wanted to. Keep them coming, I’ll keep watching .

Great job. Lovely to see the car back to being on the road again.

You did a great job!

Looks great. Going to get a 70s Datsun pickup today

i long for the days when induction systems were simple like that one. i really do.

Your knowledge and skill level make it a certainty that I will constantly check for your latest post. A great job on the Sprite. By they way you were bouncing around in the seat, I suspect that Austin Healey's don't have the greatest suspension. They do look like a lot of fun to drive. Thanks for an excellent site.

@ThisWeekWithCars

3 жыл бұрын

That road is also in need of repaving it is very bumpy.

Very informative and exactly what I needed as I'll be setting up the HS2 carbs on my Bugeye project very soon! Thanks Steve.

Great video as usual, but I do have a couple of points. Firstly you don't really explain how you equalize the airflow between the 2 carbs, and secondly how to adjust the mixture via the jet nut to achieve the "speed up then fall" to get the correct (not lean or rich) mixture. There is also a final "trick" by putting a piece of light wire bent at right angles to point to the other carb in each dashpot sleeve (tops removed) and activating the throttle to ensure both pistons are moving up at the same speed . Thanks again for removing some of the mystery around the tuning & synchronization of the great SU carburettors.

Although I have never done twin carb's I have done single SU"s. I do think some people will be scared of doing twins. Great explanation and good advice in this video Steve. 👍👍

The Sprite is looking really good Steve, excellent tuning/balancing info.

A great finished result.

Excellent explanation of SU tuning. Look forward to more.

The Sprite looks great after all your work. Thanks for the transformation.

Thank You Steve

I love this car. I have a 61 Sprite just like it. Wonderful cars!

Another great project comes to an end - good job and video

I have 4 pairs of SUs to rebuild for my fleet. Thanks for the instructional video. It's provided the reassurance I needed to use the rebuild kits i already have and get started!

I've probably said this before, this gives me good memories of my Dad working on the 1966 Austin 1100 family car, my first lessons in auto mechanics. Thanks for the video Steve.

I had to balance the four Mikuni carbs on a 1969? Honda CB 750. That first year they had four wires coming from the twist grip directly to the carbs. In later years they went with the carbs being activated off a common rotating shaft. Much easier.

Good morning Steve.

Awesome, great job and love the videos

That sound wow

Great job 👍

As an old Triumph 2500 owner, I could never bring myself to fiddle with the twin carbs. If I had had this tutorial I'd have been a lot braver...

Very informative video as usual, Steve, but I’m disappointed there’s nobody arguing in the comments over which way up the rubber gear lever grommet should go!

I was suppose to add oil to the carbs where the top part screws off too to keep the piston freely moving on my 1973 MGB.

Back in 1963 I owned a Morris (Austin) Cooper S 997cc Mini with twin HS 2 carburetors. I wonder if your local SU carburetor agent/dealer has the Application Chart which showed which needle to use for which car model to either enrich or lean the overall mixture according to whether you wanted performance (enrich) or economy (lean) the mixture. I discovered that the British SU manufacturer had gone to the trouble of producing graphs and charts for various makes and models, more so British cars where the calibration of the needle taper even took into account whether or not a particular make was fitted with an engine having a high performance engine with, for example, a high lift cam which would require the needle taper to take into account intake airflow requiring a certain taper value according to the airflow demand. I used to tune my mini using a portable exhaust gas analyzer as there were no such things as performance dynamometers that the public had access to. Good luck with your menagerie of Sprites as I relate well to the BMC A series cars :-). I also owned an Austin A40 Somerset with column gearshift.

@ThisWeekWithCars

3 жыл бұрын

There is actually a nice spreedsheet now for comparing needles: sucarb.co.uk/needle-comparison

@richysee

3 жыл бұрын

@@ThisWeekWithCars Thanks Steve, that's way easier to work with, not that I need it these days!

Great vid as usual dude. Loved the evening driving footage. I have a question: don't the air cleaners effect airflow to the carbs? Maybe not enough to matter...but I thought you'd have to lean out the mixture with the air cleaners on.

@peterknight4692

3 жыл бұрын

The air cleaners don't make a significant difference at idle speeds - at least they shouldn't if the filters are clean. It's possible to turn the adjuster nut an extra flat weaker to take the filters into account if you really want to.

For the most part I liked the video. I wish you had not glossed over reassembly of the carb. I also would liked to have heard more about oiling the top of the carb. Something like what oil, where the oil is actually supposed to go and how much to put in. Those are VERY different from any US carbs. Lastly, what ya going to do with the old girl? On a side note, do they still make hard tops for those?

@ThisWeekWithCars

3 жыл бұрын

I actually have an original hard top for it.

Awesome work! Had a question tho. When replacing the needle how deep do you install it in the slide?

@peterknight4692

3 жыл бұрын

For fixed needles, the shoulder of the top wide part should be level with the base of the piston.

Great work Steve! Just soap in the ultrasonic cleaner? Comes out looking great...

Hi Steve, really enjoy watching your videos. Will you be getting back to the Morris minor pickup truck in future videos? I’m looking forward to seeing that truck again. And greetings from New Zealand. :)

@ThisWeekWithCars

3 жыл бұрын

Yes next I need to replace the transmission, I haven't had time to find one in my stash yet.

what kind of cleaner did you put in the ultrasonic machine ?

Thank you for the video on SU carbs, I really enjoyed it and it was helpful tuning the carbs on my MGTD.Do you have plans to sell this car on e-bay or out right?

@ThisWeekWithCars

3 жыл бұрын

No

Did you lower the suspension?

I wish you would have given a little more information on filling the dash pot oil. I see a lot of different videos but they all come up a bit lacking with regard to that. If you ever get a chance I would love to see the exact level that you filled it to. Thank you for a nice video

@alexgallacher5720

3 жыл бұрын

The manual says to add a little and check each time until you can feel resistance to pushing the dashpot cover into the piston about 1/2' from the top where it screws into the dashpot.

@TahoeRealm

3 жыл бұрын

@@alexgallacher5720 thank you Alex. So is that about a half inch from the top thread ? Or a half inch from the very top of the metal tube?

@alexgallacher5720

3 жыл бұрын

@@TahoeRealm Thanks for the reply. My understanding - and I have used this through many years (3 MG's an MG Midget, and friend's MG's) is from the very top of the dashpot, to the bottom (unthreaded) part of the hexagonal fastener, before the thread starts. And you need to check it occasionally - it's one of life's mysteries where that oil disappears to!

@TahoeRealm

3 жыл бұрын

@@alexgallacher5720 thanks!

@peterknight4692

3 жыл бұрын

@@alexgallacher5720 Fill to the top of the inner metal tube without the little piston in it. The excess displaced by the little piston will then run down to lubricate where the inner metal tube slides in the dashpot cylinder tube. The excess oil runs out of the bottom of the dashpot into the sirflow going to the engine.

Looks and sounds great! What brand ultrasonic cleaner is that? I'm looking for one. What mix of cleaner do you use also?

@ThisWeekWithCars

3 жыл бұрын

The mix I use is from Safety-Kleen who also does my parts washers.

I didn't see what you adjusted to get the flows to match. Was it just idle screws or did you adjust the needle heights also? If you adjust both, in which order do you adjust them?

Is the SU adjusting wrench also Whitworth? If so, what size and where to purchase. I guess it doesn't come with the rebuild kit?

05:00 Steve, your carburettor parts clean up nicely in the ultrasonic cleaner. I tried to do the same with my HS4 carbs, but more grime remains and the metal colour is less bright. You mention that your cleaner contains water. Is there any additive (detergent, degreaser, something else) in the water?

@ThisWeekWithCars

2 жыл бұрын

The reason yours might have turned bad is because you needed to change you fluid more often or you left the carb in there too long. Clean the fluid and put it back in but this time for less time and it should come back out clean.

@windmill1965

2 жыл бұрын

@@ThisWeekWithCars Thank you for your reply. So you use only water, without any additive, and change it once it starts to look dirty?

interesting, ive always found that lifting the piston with the pin on the carb lifted the piston too high to test its mixture correctly

@FergusPol

3 жыл бұрын

Well you are kind of right, the pin should only be lifted 1/32 inch or 0.8mm, so his demo is wrong in this regard.

Would like to buy SU HS Twin Carb. Austin Healey 1.8L 1962 model. Can you please advise? Thanks\

Need to do this on my ‘62 Sprite. What rebuild kit is this? Thanks.

@ThisWeekWithCars

2 жыл бұрын

mossmotors.com/master-carburetor-rebuild-kit-genuine-su-for-2-carburetors-does-not-include-needles?assoc=174652

Ah those S,U carburetors, on my MGA, don,t put the wrong oil like l did, did you check the needle wear?Latter.

Who’s Cathy?

@ThisWeekWithCars

3 жыл бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/a2iOy7J6lJW-eNo.html

What's the difference between a normal wrench and a Whitworth wrench?

@michaelbalch9693

3 жыл бұрын

From the 1800s to the 1940s England had it’s own unique thread system for fasteners known as Whitworth. During WW2, England began moving to the SAE system of threads to become standardized with American war production. Later on in the 1960s, England would change from the SAE system of threads to Metric threads to standardize its industrial production with the rest of Europe. The SU Carburetor Company never adopted SAE or Metric threads. Their Whitworth fasteners have unique head sizes best serviced by a proper Whitworth wrench set.

@mundanestuff

3 жыл бұрын

@@michaelbalch9693 thanks! Now I'm off to buy a set of those.wrenches!

@andyrobinson339

3 жыл бұрын

@@michaelbalch9693 Not really--A Whitworth wrench is based on the size of the bolt shank as opposed to the head. That's all.

@michaelbalch9693

3 жыл бұрын

@ andy robinson The “across flats” measurements of Whitworth bolt heads and nuts are unique and present an imprecise fit to most SAE or Metric wrenches. For example, a 1/8“ Whitworth bolt measures .340” across flats. A 3/16” Whitworth bolt measures .445” across flats. A 1/4” Whitworth bolt measures .525” across flats. A 5/16” Whitworth bolt measures .600” across flats. It’s really best to use proper Whitworth wrenches on Whitworth fasteners.

@michaelhart895

3 жыл бұрын

. Whitworth were the first , what you call normal threads , being standardised 1840. Everything else was standardised later . Google Joseph Whitworth , another groundbreaking Victorian British Engineer .

really disappointed that you don't answer email.....

I hate those su carbs could never tune my triumph I had , kept running out of tune ,, is there better easier carbs you can put on it ,,,

@ThisWeekWithCars

3 жыл бұрын

Are you sure your Triumph didn't have Stromberg carbs, they look similar and act like you describe.

@wilson42cc

3 жыл бұрын

@@ThisWeekWithCars yes you are right , long time ago , I had the herald coup , roof came off , and the 4 door 2000 , bloody carbs , tune in , a week latter or less they needed doing again ,,

I wiggle my shaft every night

Can you do it all again this time WITHOUT them annoying subtitles .. they are impossible to read and obscure the views ...

@ThisWeekWithCars

3 жыл бұрын

There are no subtitles...

@janinapalmer8368

3 жыл бұрын

@@ThisWeekWithCars sorry .. my fault I had the cc button on you tube pressed on .. that shows subtitles